Chương 23: There's Still Someone Over Here...

"Shingo!"

"Shingo-kun!" The instant the chakra armor disintegrated, Shingo fell backward, crashing heavily onto the grass, which had been baked bone-dry by the searing heat wave. Except for Ami, who was still lying on the ground, unable to move, the others in the training ground rushed over almost simultaneously.

"Shingo-kun, how are you? Hang in there, I'm taking you to the hospital right now!" Ruri was the first to lunge to Shingo's side. Her voice sounded completely different from usual, trembling slightly with urgency. Kneeling beside Shingo, she used a kunai to slice away the fabric over his chest, which had been burned down to mere shreds.

"I'm fine." Shingo was currently manipulating the surge of crimson energy inside his body. The energy showed no intent to harm him whatsoever, flowing smoothly through his physique in accordance with his thoughts. He could even perceive a faint sense of warmth and vitality radiating from it. Lowering her head to inspect the injuries on Shingo's chest, Ruri simply assumed he was putting on a brave face.

While the arrow of blood had not pierced straight through his body, the center of his chest was scorched pitch-black. The charred black spread outward from the middle, its edges a mottled interweaving of dark red and ash-white. The deepest parts of the burn were dry, hard, and wrinkled; she could even see microscopic fractures in the scorched flesh trembling slightly with every rise and fall of Shingo's chest. We have to get him to the hospital immediately!

"Shikaku, Nawaki, the two of you lift him up, carefully. I'll cover the wound first to prevent infection, and then we'll take him to the hospital." With that, Ruri retrieved a roll of bandages from her ninja tool pouch. Yet for some reason, she suddenly felt her body grow overwhelmingly heavy and fatigued. The hands she had just raised drifted downward uncontrollably.

"Got it." The two boys avoided the burns on Shingo's chest, supporting him from either shoulder to lift him up.

"Don't wrap it too tight," Shikaku reminded her as he braced Shingo's back, though his gaze inadvertently caught the brilliant crimson spinning within her eyes. What is this? The Sharingan? He paused for a fraction of a second, but immediately forced his focus back onto Shingo.

"Seriously, you don't need to make such a big fuss. I really am fine." Seeing Ruri gently press the bandages over his wound with visibly trembling hands, Shingo couldn't help but speak up once more. Having confirmed that the crimson energy inside him was entirely harmless, Shingo finally had the mental bandwidth to properly evaluate his own injuries. His primary injuries across his entire body... No, to be precise, his only injury was the burn on his chest.

A large swath of skin had been carbonated, and the pungent, acrid smell of scorched flesh still lingered in his nasal passages. Ironically, the most severely damaged area felt no pain at all, likely because the nerve endings had been completely fried. The edges, however, burned with a stinging ache, though thanks to his high constitution, it remained well within tolerable limits. To an ordinary person, an injury of this scale would undoubtedly prove fatal without immediate, professional emergency care.

For a ninja, however, it was hardly insurmountable. Not to mention that his constitution attribute had already surpassed 13, making him far sturdier than the average shinobi. The Konoha Hospital wasn't far away; they would easily make it in time. His Mind's Eye could sense that his life force was still burning vibrantly.

If he hadn't just wrapped up an intense high-level training session followed immediately by a sudden battle that drained the bulk of his stamina and chakra, he felt he could have jogged to the hospital himself without issue.

"Just save your breath," Nawaki said in a low voice. All of his usual playfulness was gone. As he stared at the burns on Shingo's chest, his features twisted into a tight knot of distress. Fine. If they didn't want him talking, he wouldn't talk. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Too lazy to argue further, Shingo simply closed his eyes and drifted into rest. The next second… Slap. Nawaki landed a light palm strike right across Shingo's face.

The force behind it wasn't much, but the sound it made was remarkably sharp.

"Shingo! Shingo, wake up! You can't die on us!" I swear... Resigned, Shingo opened his eyes and used what little strength he had left to elbow Nawaki in the ribs.

"Ugh." Nawaki winced, rubbing his elbow-bruised chest with a look of utter perplexity, failing to understand how someone on the verge of death could still pack such a punch.

"I'm telling you, I'm fine. Just too tired. Stop making a racket and let me rest for a minute."

"Really?" Shingo didn't bother answering; he simply gave him a speechless, deadpan stare. The training ground fell silent once more. The others crowded around, watching as Ruri carefully secured the last of the bandages. Confirming that the dressing completely covered the wound without applying undue pressure, Ruri finally let out a long breath of relief. The very next moment, her vision went completely black. Without managing a single word, she collapsed sideways beside Shingo.

Inoichi rushed forward to catch her, quickly discovering that her breathing was steady. She had simply passed out from exhaustion. Shikaku opened his mouth, intending to suggest they carry both Shingo and Ruri to the Konoha Hospital together. Before he could speak, a figure tore through the air with a deafening whistle, crashing violently into the training ground. Might Duy came to a halt right in front of Shingo.

His skin flushed an abnormal, blazing red, veins bulging at his temples as the intense heat radiating from his body boiled his sweat away into a thin haze of white steam. The usual grin was absent from his face. His gaze swept the training ground in an instant before he dropped to a crouch to examine Shingo's injuries.

"Duy-aniki, get them to the hospital!" Shikaku urged immediately.

"The bandages were just applied, watch out for the wound." Duy nodded firmly. He scooped Shingo up with utmost care, then heaved the unconscious Ruri onto his shoulder. With a thunderous crunch, the ground beneath his feet caved inward and the turf shredded apart, and he vanished from sight in the blink of an eye. It wasn't until the rushing noise of his departure faded deep into the tree line that the remaining kids finally exhaled, as if snapping back to reality.

"Shingo's going to be okay, right?" Choza was deeply worried; that arrow of blood was clearly no ordinary ninjutsu.

"Relax, with Duy-aniki on it, he'll be fine," Shikaku comforted, glancing at Nawaki, whose body was shivering involuntarily. Nawaki didn't reply. The boy who usually loved talking the most sat slumped on the ground, his body curled inward slightly, his fingers clawing desperately into his kneecaps. The training ground grew dead quiet once more. A few seconds later, a frail voice drifted over from nearby:"Hey..." Ami lay flat on the ground, far too weak to move even a single finger.

"There's still someone over here..." … Even while sprinting at maximum velocity, Might Duy remained acutely mindful to keep his movements steady so as not to jar Shingo's injuries. Shingo felt no discomfort whatsoever. In fact... how should he put it? It was actually kind of thrilling, reminiscent of a roller coaster ride. That was Shingo's most genuine impression as he was carried through the village by Might Duy, who had opened the Fifth Gate of the Eight Inner Gates, the Gate of Limit.

Duy's speed was so extraordinary that it immediately drew widespread attention. In Konoha, Duy was a thoroughly notorious figure. Of course, not for any good reasons. Lacking natural talent, proficient only in taijutsu, and eccentric to a fault. Yet right now, this genin who was so often treated as the village laughingstock was displaying a velocity that utterly eclipsed ordinary ninja.

A group of Uchiha patrol members who had just finished escorting a troublesome troublemaker from the gambling dens to the Military Police Force headquarters caught sight of a streak flashing past. One of them, with three tomoe spinning in his eyes, instantly recognized the figure of Shingo in Duy's arms, as well as the Uchiha fan emblem embroidered on the clothes of the unconscious girl slung over Dai's shoulder. A Military Police officer shouted aloud:"You in front! Stop right there!"

Duy's pace did not slacken by even a fraction, leaving behind only a roaring vacuum in his wake and a storm of churning dust.

"Takuno, shouting like that won't do any good if he can't even hear you," remarked Uchiha Kazuo, fellow member of the Military Police Force.

"That's the direction of the Konoha Hospital. Let's follow them and find out what happened." Several Uchiha officers gave chase immediately, trailing the path Duy had carved toward the hospital. Meanwhile, the regular patrols, Anbu, and Root divisions had all been thrown into motion one after another. Some rushed to the training ground to investigate the crimson pillar of light that had just pierced the sky, only to run into Nawaki and the Ino-Shika-Chō trio carrying Ami, whom they escorted onward to the hospital.

Others sped off to brief the Hokage and Danzō, while additional squads fanned out to sweep the perimeter for potential intruders. In an instant, the entire village of Konoha was galvanized into motion by the sudden raid. When Might Duy reached the Konoha Hospital, his body still venting billows of white steam, his explosive entry into the main lobby instantly drew every eye in the room. Two young children, one unconscious, the other wrapped head-to-chest in thick bandages.

Several medical-nin stationed in the lobby tightened up instantly, dropping their tasks to swarm forward. Two of them quickly assessed Ruri, determining that she was merely suffering from severe mental and chakra exhaustion without any critical injuries, before turning their attention entirely to Shingo. Truth be told, Shingo felt rather helpless. He desperately wanted to say: Seriously, you don't need to make such a big deal out of this, I'm completely fine. However, there was zero opening for him to interject.

With a few swift snips of scissors, the bandages fell away, and the medical-nin murmured quietly among themselves as they assessed the extent of the burns. Within moments, a treatment protocol was locked in, and Shingo was wheeled into a designated treatment room. Mitarashi Sōsuke rushed over upon receiving word. His strides were hurried, his white physician's coat still crooked, followed closely by a medical-nin specializing in anesthesia and three nurses.

Catching sight of Sōsuke, Shingo even managed to lift a hand in greeting.

"Fancy meeting you again, Dr. Sōsuke." Seeing Shingo greeting him with such composure, the tight creases across Sōsuke's brow relaxed slightly. Without wasting time on idle chatter, he merely nodded and issued crisp instructions:"Clear the residual clothing, flush the wound with saline solution to bring the temperature down immediately. Prepare the anesthetic." Moments after the quick clearance, cool physiological saline washed continuously over his chest, leeching away the lingering heat.

The anesthesiologist stepped up next, pressing a palm firmly between Shingo's neck and shoulder as chakra slowly bled inward along his meridian pathways. Shingo offered no resistance, letting the foreign chakra flow through his system. The deep, stinging throb along the edges of the burn steadily faded away, and the tight, suffocating pressure in his chest grew blissfully numb. A heavy wave of drowsiness washed over him.

Closing his eyes and breathing in the familiar antiseptic scent of the medical room, Shingo sank into a deep, dreamless sleep before long.